Late Nights and Coffee
by dansnotgossipgirl
Summary: Set weeks after 505 - the movie project for 'Inside' push through, putting Dan and Serena to work closely together. Could friendship lead into something more or this would be the end for them.
1. Chapter 1

**Thank you and enjoy reading :)**

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><p>A slight frown displayed on Serena's face, eyes were riveted to the book she held in her hands. She was seated on the corner of a Coffee shop absorbed in her work. Shortly after, Dan came with two cups of coffee; its bitter aroma reaches her senses. He settled one near her, "Careful, it's hot" he warned.<p>

She received the coffee, "Thanks," she said, smiling briefly before taking a sip.

He led back to the counter to get his other order and came back with a slice of cake; he laid the saucer on the table. "You got me Chocolate cake?" she mused like a delighted child.

"Chocolate truffle, I remember you liked 'em," he answered, returning her smile. The last time they were there about two weeks ago and ordered that she enjoyed it.

"Thank you"

He took a seat across from her and started to type in his laptop.

It had been a couple of weeks since they were set out to write the script for 'Inside' together with the professional scenarists Jane appointed to collaborate and guide them. And working all afternoon in a four corner room, five times a week could get tiring; hence they needed a change of scene and he and Serena often continues to operate on their own to speed up on finishing the first draft.

He sipped on his coffee and watched Serena in amusement as she began to devour her dessert.

She got conscious when she felt his gaze on her, "Want some?" she offered her spoon to his mouth. She noticed he didn't buy for himself.

Chuckling, he pushed her hand away, gently, "No, I'm good. I bet that isn't enough for you," he teased.

She rolled eyes at him, "Fine by me, I was just being polite. I really don't like to share," she said, bringing the spoon to her mouth and made "Mmm" sound, making him grin at her childishness.

**xoxo**

Dan had settled on the floor in the Loft's living room, reviewing several pieces of paper in his grasp. He tilted his head and saw Serena paraded in; wearing only a faded blue pullover shirt that reaches her mid-thighs, sleeves rumpled-up to her elbows and her hair was in a messy updo. She had changed into his clothes as dresses could get quite uncomfortable when you had to work long hours.

She caught him staring; his lips were turned-up into a grin. "What?"

He lightly swung his head, pulling a straight face, "Nothing," he denied in an innocent tone. She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say another word and proceeded to the living room and made herself comfortable on the couch.

Ofttimes they work late nights, bouncing off ideas, writing then revising. Like most writers he liked working during those hours as he comes up with hundreds of ideas and developing wild imagination.

Other times they worked in restaurants while having a burger, coffee houses or ordering take outs from Dan's favorite diner in Brooklyn.

Dan got up to stretch his tired limbs, he had been typing for an hour and half and he needed a break, he cracked his head, "Want some coffee?" he offered, they needed caffeine in their system to help them stay awake.

Rearing her head from the novel, "Yes, please," she accepted.

"And maybe something to eat," she added melodiously.

"Want me to make some waffles?" she nodded, smiling satisfyingly as he seemed to have read her mind.

Minutes passed by, only crumbs were left on the plate, rested on the center table. And she was now on the floor to his side.

_Sabrina was portrayed as a wild and reckless teenager who parties on school nights, gets high on a cheap motel and sleeps with _almost_ every man to professors, lacrosse players and a swim team captain. _

"_Beautiful, but dangerous"_ _were the words Dylan used to describe Sabrina._

"_Everyone loves a villain" _as it turned out, it was her.

Reading through the first half of the story had been tough for Serena; she was upset that, that was how he saw her, though Dan told her it wasn't her, yet Sabrina was inspired by her.

"Page 287" he noted for her to turn to the same page, the part where the story revolves around Claire, part where only Claire exists in Dylan Hunter's world and his intense feelings towards the flawless brunette.

_The way Dylan made love with Claire or maybe it was how Dan would have wanted with Blair. _

She thought, _"You really feel that way about her…"_ she didn't know she had blurted it out, so it possibly came out as a whisper because she heard him answer.

"I don't know" honestly, he was never sure what he felt for Blair, first they were friends then it grew into something more.

"I started to write 'Inside' junior year when you and I started dating and then we broke up, I couldn't write about it or anything good for that matter. Jeremiah once told me, perhaps I need to find my reason for writing, I did, but then I lost it. Spending time with Blair inspired me to write and the tone of my stories changed," he told her the truth, he didn't see the point of lying about it anyway.

_Enable for him to put Blair on the pedestal he had to knock Serena off of it._

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> This is a multi-chapter fic, but it's really short, so please bear with me. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you and enjoy reading :)

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><p>Slamming the lid of the binder, Dan rose to his feet and faced the dark-blond man in his fifties, "Thank you so much" he said in a grateful manner, gripping Sorkin's hand.<p>

"It's my pleasure working with you, Dan," Aaron tapped his shoulders; he admired the kid's dedication to his writing and passion in his work much like him when he started. If there would be an opportunity, he would love to work with him again.

Today was their final meeting since four months ago when he and Serena submitted the first draft of 'Inside' they had worked on for thirteen weeks. The known and experienced writer was the one, who continued and finished the screenplay, though Jane agreed for Dan to be involved in the development as he and Serena met with Sorkin at least once a week to listen to Dan's opinion and his desired outcome for his novel.

Jane gave him a brief hug and congratulated him, then excused herself and Sorkin as they had more things to discuss, leaving him and the tall blonde alone in the room.

Serena trod to Dan and awarded him with a hug, "I'm so proud, I always believe you could do it," she chirped, clapping her hands as she beamed at him.

"Hey, we both made this happen," he said truthfully, without her he wouldn't have this opportunity or had written the first draft without her help.

"I wasn't much of a help," she said, giving him the credit.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you… so thank you" he conceded with an appreciative smile, looking at her meaningfully.

She grabbed her purse before they exited the building. He hailed a cab for her as they both had to be someplace else.

He opened the taxi door for her, "Dinner tonight, celebrate?" he invited casually before she got in.

"I'm sure Rufus would want the family to celebrate, so I'll just see you at the apartment later," she responded, knowing how supportive Rufus to his son. He nodded in agreement, she closed her door not waiting for him to do it and the cab drove off.

He waved his hand, "Bye" he muttered to himself and called his own cab.

**xoxo**

Pulling up the chair she greeted the others who were already at the table, glad she wasn't late seeing that almost everyone was there, however, she hadn't seen Dan anywhere. It had been three weeks since the audition for the movie started, screening actors mostly new, who would be suitable to portray the characters of 'Inside'. She took a seat on the left end of the long table.

Minutes later the door pushed open, then Dan walked in, he wasn't alone, there was someone beside him she didn't recognize and they were headed in her direction.

"Serena" he called, stopping at her front, causing her to stand up. "Terry, this is Serena, my partner for this project. Terry Manson will be joining us today," he introduced and informed, gesturing his hand between her and the gay director.

She nodded, "Hi, pleased to meet you," she said courteously to the man, who had a serious face on.

"Yeah," he replied brusquely. Serena looked at the pompous director for a short second, surprised as she wasn't used to people treat her that way. He went to sit on the other end of the table. She turned to Dan with a raised eyebrow and by the look on his face, it was obvious he felt the same with the man's attitude.

They have had guest judges for the past weeks, renowned directors, producers who were Jane's friends and a few actors who had read the book and Terry was the third and surprisingly the only unfriendly among all of them.

"Stop… stop" Terry yelled at the blonde in front, the girl stopped and turned to the director, unnerved.

"Have you studied the character before you decided to stand there?" he said sternly, gesturing his hand to the front, authority was clear in his tone, "You're playing a licentious teenage character, not a saint" his words hit Serena's gut. Probably unaware that the person Sabrina was modeled, was in fact in the room.

"You're wasting our valuable time," he complained, then looked at the staff behind him. "Could someone show this girl how it's done," he said, exasperated and waited for somebody to come forward.

Offended, Serena stood up and stomped in front, "Watch," she told the girl and did what was said in the script.

Serena traced the guy's body, which was playing as Sabrina's professor, gliding her hand to his chest; she even forced a seductive giggle out of her mouth, exaggerating her act to release her frustration. She hooked a hand on his neck and let him touch her, obviously taking advantage of the situation, his hands slid lower before it reaches her bottom. "Cut!" someone yelled out, the guy immediately distanced himself from her. She turned and saw Dan's angry expression; everyone's eyes were on him, startled by his reaction.

"Ahem… I think she got it," he said a bit calmer as he noticed the eyes on him.

Serena returned to her seat next to Dan and stayed silent. The juries watched the actress reenact the scene, but Serena, whose head was lowered, unmindful that Dan's eyes were also fixed on her.

A small woman approached Dan, "Dan, should I tell the other to come in?" Natalie inquired, pointing at the door.

"Umh, we'll take fifteen minutes," he replied, totally cooled down.

"Okay," she said with a nod and went back outside.

The others left the room to take a bathroom break and have a snack. He and Serena were the only ones left on the table.

Serena dropped against her backrest, letting out a deep sigh, tired from the screening going on all day. "Why can't we just pick anyone," she uttered with annoyance, they had been seeing actors and the aspiring ones to play Sabrina for the longest, but still not agreeing to who would get the part and if it was up to her, she would have chosen anyone, just to get it over with and honestly she didn't care anymore. "It didn't take this long to get your approval on who would play Claire" she blamed him while shuffling the papers of the actors who auditioned that day.

Meeting her glare with a soft one, he said tenderly, "Well, none of these girls' measure up with Sabrina" he wasn't trying to flatter her or anything close to that, he just often found something wrong, like they're not good enough or their qualities didn't fit with Sabrina's, he couldn't point it out.

Not pleased with his statement, she pressed her lips tightly together forming a straight line and averted her eyes back to the papers in her hand.

Moments later, the panels came back and took their seats and resumed to work.

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><p>I'm not sure if this is a good one, anyway thanks :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you and again, enjoy reading :)**

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><p>The faint thuds on the door made Serena's head upturn. She had moved back to the van der Woodsens-Apartment months ago, when she and Blair had a fight, but, of course, they made up soon after, especially since she was back with Chuck. She would not admit to anyone and certainly not to herself that their argument essentially had rooted from Dan.<p>

Dan's head poked through her door, "Hey, why did I not know you're sick?" he stepped inside without being invited in.

She set down the book that she was reading. "Since when are you my boss? I have no obligation to report everything to you," she said in a cranky manner.

His eyebrows furrowed by her tone and statement. "I'm not… I'm your partner. You didn't show this morning and I got worried," he said softly - no one in the studio notified him that Serena called in sick, they are likely to assume he knew since he was her friend and they work together on the project. He first thought she was running late, but after a few hours not hearing from her, he became worried.

He walked to her bedside, "How are you feeling?" he asked, there was the natural concern in his voice.

She looked up at him, suddenly feeling a tinge of guilt. "It's just stomach flu," she said, a bit more polite, giving him the reason why she wasn't at the studio.

Touching her forehead, feeling her temperature, he asked, "Are you sure?" he was slightly relieved she was not warm.

She nodded, "I'm feeling better, you should go," she said, trying to send him away.

He sat on the side of the bed, facing her. "Let me stay here," he said, offering her his assistance.

She watched him carefully, why the sudden care. "You don't have to, and they might need you at the studio," she tried convincing him.

"I want to, I'll just call Natalie, I'm sure they can manage"

Her face turned into a frown. "I don't need you here, what I need is rest, so please," she let the irritation she was holding back earlier as he did not seem to get that she was trying to make him leave.

When he did not move, "Please," she uttered curtly, he nodded weakly and reluctantly left her room.

**xoxo**

Serena left her room to get a glass of water; she barely touched her food this morning or even bothered to eat lunch since she wasn't really hungry or in the mood to eat. She simply stayed in her room all afternoon.

She noticed a shadowy figure on the sofa as the place was dim, he turned his head aback and she recognized that it was Dan. "You're still here…" what was he still doing there; she thought he had left hours ago.

"I went back to the studio, see if they needed me, but Sam assured me they can handle it," he rode back to the studio just to tell Natalie he needed to do something important.

Earlier, he didn't realize that today's script was mostly Dylan's interaction with Claire since they were auditioning for the guy's character and given that in the book Dylan interacted most with Claire, so the script was mainly between the two.

He didn't want to jump into the assumption Serena avoided today for that reason. He wasn't sure how he would react if she did. They had been working closely for the past nine months, he had felt something in his gut, but he couldn't grasp what it was and had avoided entertaining the thought. On the other hand, Serena had been all friendly and professional; she never showed any inkling of interest in him.

Out of nowhere he heard her say. "You could go with the project without me"

Something she said hit him, making him suddenly angry, "Why, bored already?" he couldn't identify the tone came out of his mouth, but he sure could taste bitterness in his tongue. "You had your fun?"

Looking confused she asked, "What?"

"It's always been like that with you, isn't it?" now he sounded resentful, causing Serena to be more baffled.

Squinting, she faintly swayed her head, "I don't know where you're getting at"

"Whenever it gets dull for you, you chases for adventure, including dating an ex-con! Then expect me to wait for you," he didn't know how he directed the conversation there without a full realization and why he was angry at her for something that happened years ago.

Her eyes water, partly because of his shouting, but did not let it fall. "It's not like that," she said with a slight shake in her voice, feeling the need to defend herself against his accusation, suddenly feeling guilty of something she was not aware she did.

"Well, I'm sorry, I've moved on," he exclaimed as there was sarcasm in his voice, not trying to listen to her excuse. Fortunately, Lily and Rufus were on a vacation to witness their fight as it was very unlikely for him to act that way, not to mention he was out of his territory.

A force made her nod her head, understandingly; she had already accepted the reality that he was no longer in love with her and clear enough his book proved how in love he was with her best friend. But she would use the opportunity to let him know how she felt, "I cared most about you, Dan," maybe that was another way to say she did love him, perhaps more than she ever loved any man.

She thought she was over him and him being in love with Blair helped her move forward, but after the thought of today had affected her by the re-telling of how the man she loved fell for her best friend. She realized she still loved him as a tiny part in her heart still ached with the thought of Dan loving Blair.

Dan strode over to her then stopped only a meter apart, "What's the reason you didn't come today?" he asked again, now in a low stern voice, eyes searching hers for the truth.

Worried as he got dangerously closer to her, "I… I told you, I was sick," her voice lacked conviction, she lied, yet her eyes spoke the truth.

"You could've fooled me," he muttered huskily close to her slightly parted lips before pulling on her neck and claiming her lips, kissing her fiercely.

She tried to escape, but then he snaked his arm around her, pulling her against him. The way he moved, his every kiss were punishing. All her strength to fight was gone as his kisses were draining and her will to break free was superseded by the desire to be close to him and accept his punishment.

Perhaps they were unaware of the tension building up for the past months and now it was all surfacing.

All her rational thoughts had gone insane, understanding that it was a mistake and still she was fervently responding to his kisses, he hooked her leg to his hip and she wrapped the other on his side, he supported her weight with both of his hands wrapped around her back and with great effort he hastily, but mindfully carried her back to her bedroom, but not without stripping each other's clothing within arm's reach. Barely breaking the contact of their hungry mouths as they both knew that if one would give the other even just a second to think then the spell they were under would break.

Dan laid her steadily onto the mattress. He detached himself from her and carelessly removed his pants, then clambered back on top of her, he kissed her neck shortly and began to trail wet kisses down her naked chest, quiet whimpers escaped her mouth as she clutched on his upper back, and his hands fumbled getting her panties off.

He moved back up and looked into her glistening blue eyes for a second, the first time and stroked her tresses with his fingers as he leaned to kiss her lips, his kisses became soft and teasing, placing a number of kisses on her cheek then back to her lips, his tongue battled with hers.

She let her hands glide softly on his bare torso while her legs swathed on his hips while he unhurriedly entered her, filling every inch of her void. Their movements became more intense, moving in a synchronous rhythm, increasing their pace, sounds of pleasure emitted from their mouths.

**xoxo**

Serena sprung out of bed; she woke up not seeing him on the other side of her bed, basically he did her a favor because she didn't want to engage in a morning after sex debacle. She did her morning routine, going straight to her bathroom, she tried to forget about last night's happening and avoided thinking of how she felt about it as he probably did the same, they both knew it was a mistake and regretted what happened.

After her bath, as she was slipping her clothes on, she sighted a small piece of paper on her side table with Dan's writing,

"_Headed back to studio_

_You could take the rest of the day off"_

She crumpled it into a tiny ball and threw it in the bin. He didn't need to worry because she decided not to go back there anyway, she planned to report back to Jane's office.

Dan never called or even sent her a text after their last encounter which was fine with her, she didn't want to talk to him either and glad he didn't make it hard for her to try avoiding him.

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> I would've loved to see the "long development meetings" is season five which inspired this fic. but of course that didn't happen. So I sorta liked the idea of this story when I started it, but after re-reading this chapter before posting, everything felt so rushed and abrupt and I'm sorry about that. If only it were longer – I hope that I'll be able to edit or revise this story sometime soon.

**P.S.** the next chapter would be the last for this fic. Thank you :)


	4. Chapter 4

_This is the last chapter._

**Thank you and enjoy reading :)**

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><p>She called her boss a few days ago and requested for an entire week leave and she was to report to the office on Monday, but Thursday morning she got a call from the office and she was told to attend an urgent meeting.<p>

On her way to her desk, she bumped in with Sam, "Hey, Serena, feeling all better?" he asked, since she called in sick last week she hadn't been around, so they probably assumed she was still sick, not that she ever really was.

She gave him a polite smile, "Yeah, thanks… what's the meeting all about?" she guessed there must be a problem or something important for Jane to call for a meeting.

"Oh, your friend, Dan, had _a few_ revisions to the final draft," he said with a hint of sarcasm, obviously not pleased with the extra work load.

Confused, she asked, "Why, is there a problem with the script?" how could there be a problem when they were almost done with the auditions and Sorkin might have written the screenplay, but Dan was pretty much involved with everything.

"Don't ask me, ask your friend, and as for the copy you have one on your desk," he uttered in his natural feminine irritated tone before he stormed outside to probably get the coffee Jane ordered.

"Thanks," she muttered in the air, glancing at her Cartier watch, she still got a half hour to read before the meeting starts.

**xoxo**

Furious, no scratch that, she felt humiliated or to be accurate it was both, she couldn't believe he would do this, he wrote that Dylan and Sabrina had sex towards the end and made the character reevaluate his feelings? And for nth time it had shown how easy Sabrina was to have slept with Dylan.

Everyone they work with must have seen the addition to the script, what would they think about her when Sabrina was based on her. Surely others would think it was only fiction, but the part they had sex actually happened.

Serena rambled around to find the target of her rage and soon enough she spotted his frame in the conference room through the smoked glass door, she abruptly barged inside, startling the man.

She forcefully threw the bind of papers on the table, landing on his front, "What the hell is your problem, Dan?!" she shouted, loudly enough for him to discern her anger, but not let the others outside hear. She wasn't able to control the words that came out of her mouth; her mind was clouded with fury.

He glanced at the paper, then to Serena's serious face, "What, what did I do?" he sounded guiltless, if it was about what he wrote then he didn't understand why she was mad.

"Do you really have to include a private matter into your story?" what he wrote wasn't exactly how it happened, the plot and setting was different, but still it wasn't far from the truth either. "And add loads of crap about feelings!" she yelled scornfully.

Though insulted, he remained calm even with her outburst. "I meant what I wrote" he said, sounding defeated.

She let out a sarcastic laugh and said, "You said it yourself, all fiction," what was he playing now, he basically just told her, he had feelings for her. Well, he could have his laugh, but if he thought she would even fall for that then he was mistaken. Not now that Blair found her way back to Chuck and there was no changing her mind, _she_ wouldn't be his substitute.

"True, it was a work of fiction, but still inspired by real emotions… like the night Dylan spent with Claire, was inspired by how I felt on my first time or every other time I spent with you. The other night wasn't any different… and waking up with you by my side looking… so damn beautiful," he stated with a silly laugh in his last sentence, remembering how she looked when he kissed her goodbye. His eyes were staring straight on hers, full with love and sincerity.

She just stood there, speechless, "I thought… I succeeded in teaching myself to escape you," he continued in a low voice.

"Maybe, I'm that stupid to even let my heart be broken again by Serena van der Woodsen, and will be for the rest of my life, but it doesn't matter, I'd still take my chances… because I like how I feel when I'm in love with you,"

He tried to get near her, "Serena… I-" but she stopped him with her words.

"Dan, stop talking," she hushed out, stunned with all of what he said and not being able to wrap her head around it completely.

But of course he wouldn't be _her_ Dan if he listened, "I love you…"

She let out a breath to compose herself, "I said, stop talking" a delighted smile appeared on her lips. She bridged the distance between them and grabbed his face, crushing her lips with his.

She tore their lips apart, then stared into his eyes for a moment, seeing the surprised look on his face, making her giggle for a second before kissing him again, which he responded to, she didn't respond to his declaration, but she hoped that this would be more than enough of an answer.


End file.
